Political crisis in France: Lecornu resigns and Macron demands negotiations
Lecornu resigns in France, Macron calls for new negotiations to address the ongoing political crisis.
Key points
His team only lasted a few hours. French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu presented the list of ministers to Emmanuel Macron on Sunday evening, and handed in his resignation, less than a month after being appointed, the next morning.
The president of the Republic agreed, but also asked the prime minister to conduct "final negotiations", until Wednesday evening, "on a platform of action and stability for the country". "I will tell the head of state on Wednesday evening," the prime minister replied, "whether this is possible or not, so that he can draw all the conclusions that are required". Lecornu does not seem to be open to a reappointment while Macron is reported to have said, according to rumours gathered by Afp, that he is ready "to take my responsibilities".
The crisis was sudden and unexpected. Criticism from the républicains, neogollists, immediately echoed by the reconfirmed Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau - who has presidential ambitions - prompted Macron's young loyalist to resign, despite the political consequences of such a gesture. The neo-Gollists, who were already complaining of being under-represented, abruptly criticised the appointment of Bruno Le Maire, former Minister of the Economy and 'responsible' for the increase in debt, to Defence and - more generally - for having too many reconfirmed ministers.
They called a meeting for the morning, but Lecornu preferred to bring them forward. Later, Retailleau accused the prime minister of having 'hidden' the appointment of Le Maire (who withdrew from the government in the afternoon) from him. Criticism, expected, had also come from the left, but there was no lack of grumbling from the Macronians themselves, led by former prime minister Gabriel Attal.
Lecornu's accusations
In his speech after his resignation, Lecornu explained - albeit with his characteristic prudence and discretion - the reasons for the decision. He first of all contested the criticism of excessive continuity: he had promised, he said, that he would not resort to Article 49.3 of the Constitution, which allows the budget to be passed without a parliamentary vote: a measure that the French now consider odious. "The parties pretended not to see the change", which removed the "pretext for parliamentarians to refuse to do their job as parliamentarians, i.e. to debate the law, amend it and, if necessary, vote on a text or not".
